November 1st, 2013 by Doree

Seattle Public Schools announced today that it will add free all-day kindergarten at 16 more elementary schools, including Greenwood and Viewlands. That means 43 out of the city’s 69 elementary schools will now provide free all-day kindergarten to all students, instead of charging for half a day for students who don’t qualify for free and reduced price lunch.

And, if the School Board approves it at its Nov. 20 meeting, the district also will reduce the monthly amount for those still paying for the extra half-day from $311 to $283, retroactive to Sept. 1.

If approved by the Board, families who use automatic withdrawal will have their money credited back to their bank accounts by Jan. 31; those who paid by credit card will receive a refund check by Jan 31.

According to a school district press release, the money comes from a change in how the District can use $2.4 million from the state’s Learning Assistance Program.

“We know that early learning is key to our students’ success, and attending full-day kindergarten helps prepare our students academically and socially for the rest of their school career,” Cashel Toner, Director of Early Learning for Seattle Public Schools, said in the press release. “This proposal means that an additional 770 students can take advantage of full-day kindergarten at no cost.”

The state currently funds full-day kindergarten for schools that are at 50 percent population of students who qualify for free and reduced price lunch, including Broadview-Thomson K-8, just north of Greenwood. The district will now offer it to all schools with 25 percent free and reduced price lunch. The state legislature has said it plans to fully fund all-day kindergarten in all schools by 2017.

September 9th, 2013 by Doree

St. John the Evangelist, at 121 N. 80th St., is hosting its first “Blessing of the Back Packs,” along with a parish festival and pizza party from 10:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. this Sunday.

Students are invited to bring their backpacks, book bag or tote to be blessed by Fr. Crispin at the 10:30 a.m. mass. Participants are encouraged to fill their backpacks with non-perishable food to be left on the altar. Food will be donated to Broadview-Thomson K-8’s food program.

June 7th, 2013 by Doree

Detectives from the Traffic Collision Investigation Squad (TCIS) are currently investigating a car/pedestrian collision that occurred in the intersection of North 130th Street and Greenwood Avenue North shortly after 9:00 this morning.

At about 9:05 am , officers responded to a report of a child struck by a car at N. 130/Greenwood Avenue N. There had been a report just a minute prior to that of a recklessly driven vehicle southbound on Greenwood. Officers determined that the involved car in the collision was the same one.

The vehicle drove through the intersection, striking the 7-year-old girl and an adult female who were crossing in the crosswalk. The vehicle continued travelling southbound after striking the pedestrians.

Officers located the car in a parking lot just south of the collision scene. The elderly male driver was evaluated by Seattle Fire and transported to an area hospital for treatment. TCIS detectives and a Drug Recognition Expert (DRE) officer responded to the scene. He was evaluated by the DRE officer for any signs of impairment from drugs and/or alcohol. The results of those tests are pending.

The child was transported to an area hospital with what is believed non-life-threatening injuries. The adult female was not injured. This remains an active and on-going investigation.

Earlier: The Seattle Times reports a 7-year-old girl was hit by a car while in a crosswalk near Broadview-Thomson K-8 this morning.

The Times article says witnesses reported the girl was carried on the hood of the car for about 30 feet, then flew another 15 feet through the air. She was taken to Harborview Medical Center with bruising and bleeding, but didn’t appear to be seriously injured.

November 29th, 2012 by Doree

Traffic safety cameras went live at four Seattle Public Schools at the beginning of the month (including at Broadview-Thomson K-8 at 13052 Greenwood Ave. N.), and thousands of motorists have been issued warnings since then. Starting on Dec. 10, motorists who speed through those school zones will receive a $189 citation in the mail.

According to a City of Seattle press release, the city has issued 5,927 warning notices in those four school zones.

“If this current level of speeding continues in these school zones, the City could see between $2-4 million in revenue annually,” the press release states. “The City is exploring options to invest this revenue back into these school zones for additional safety improvements. The City would prefer that motorists comply with the posted speed limit in school zones.”

The other schools with traffic safety cameras are Thurgood Marshall Elementary School, Olympic View Elementary School and Gatewood Elementary School. The four schools were chosen because of documented speeding problems.

The cameras will only issue tickets when the school zone yellow beacons are flashing, which is usually for about an hour in the morning and an hour in the afternoon.